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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22601350">Death is so much fun!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackMoonsDaughter/pseuds/BlackMoonsDaughter'>BlackMoonsDaughter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Death Note &amp; Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon, Blood and Gore, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Friendship/Love, I mean it- lots of gore, Kira antagonist, LOTS of violence, Light gets his ass kicked, Misa isn't a favoured person here, No Sexual Content, No Smut, Plot Twists, Romance between different species, Sacrifice, Suicidal Thoughts, Takes place during the original events, Threats, crazy people, dark themes, few sadistic moments, fluff moments, funny moments, mad person logic, mental issues, mentions of canon and other Death Note one-shots, mentions of torture, mild Self-harm, probably disturbing descriptions of harm, psychopathic personality, slowburn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:13:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,490</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22601350</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackMoonsDaughter/pseuds/BlackMoonsDaughter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Light isn't just a target of Kira Task Force's investigation. He is also the target of a worldwide criminal, who takes it upon herself to make his life as Kira the most troublesome thing that could happen to him. She is neither an enemy nor an ally to Kira. She just entertains the idea of watching and adding her own touches to the chaos, much to the delight of a certain, apple-loving Shinigami. Now, both Light and L will have to face a fearless, unpredictable, murderous criminal while hunting down each other in the process. On top of that, she is quite hard to kill. And worst of all; She is not afraid to die. </p><p>After all, death is such a funny thing...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>L (Death Note) &amp; Original Female Character(s), L (Death Note)/Original Female Character(s), Rem (Death Note) &amp; Original Female Character(s), Ryuk (Death Note) &amp; Original Female Character(s), Ryuk (Death Note)/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Homecoming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The machine guns were making a complete mess out of the office, filling with holes every unprotected surface. Guns had that quality, messing things up. Including the people at the receiving end. And the people shooting, most of the time. The exception here was that the only thing getting messed up, at this point, was the room itself. Papers were flying around, glasses were breaking, bullets were ringing as they fell to the ground. There was so much of it. So much <em>noise.</em></p><p> </p><p>She loved it. The way those guys were firing carelessly, trying to randomly hit her, as if there's no tomorrow, always gave her a tingling sensation in her stomach. Then again, there really was<em> no</em> <em>tomorrow</em> for them, so she guessed they had a point.</p><p> </p><p>A few seconds later, they stopped firing. Whether it was to reload or see if they had managed to hit anything besides furniture, she didn't know and didn't care. Her lips stretched into a much wider, much happier smile. "MY TURN!"</p><p> </p><p>Her feet kicked the flipped table she had been hiding behind, sending it flying on the two Italians on the right while she jumped to the left, grabbed onto the lights from the ceiling and swang herself to the third guy. The man let out a curse in Italian, probably something along the lines of <em>I fucking hate Mondays</em>, before he was pushed back to the floor by her weight. Her feet landed on his face, producing a very satisfying <em>crack</em>.</p><p> </p><p>The woman turned to the two others who were pushing the table to the side and trying to regain their balance at the same time. One of the two dismissed the idea of getting up from his kneeling position and opted for raising his gun at her as he was. She let out a comical <em>'yikes'</em>  and grabbed the corpse beneath her, shielding her body with his.</p><p> </p><p>"Catch!" The body came crashing down on the shooter in a ball of limbs. The moment the shooting stopped, the woman moved and used the two bodies as a boost to jump high and stab the third guy mid-jump, pulling him down with her. Taking his gun, she twisted her body around shot the man trapped under the corpse. Seventeen times. And two seconds later, she fired another five times. Just to be sure.</p><p> </p><p>Standing up, she walked over to the two tangled bodies and picked up the guns. Then she searched their pockets, coming up with 300 euros. She smiled kindly at them. "You don't mind if you buy me dinner later tonight, right fellas? I was busy tracking your asses down, you own me."</p><p> </p><p>A faint groan of pain pulled her attention to the third man, coughing up blood and trying to cover the wound on his chest with the knife still inside. "Oh, I almost forgot!"</p><p> </p><p>She calmly walked over and snatched the knife out of him, causing blood to fly out of the wound and a cry to escape his lips. He looked in her direction with the few remains of his life, horror and confusion swimming in his eyes. She, however, was busy dropping all the weaponry in a gym bag and storing the money in a back pocket of her jean shorts. She only noticed him when she was pulling the strap of the bag over her shoulder. There were a brief pause and a slight tilt of the head from her. "What? I needed the knife back. You know how hard it is to find trusty weaponry like this?" she giggled.</p><p> </p><p>The last thing the guy saw before the life left his body was the glint of a psycho shining on her pupils and the insane toothy smile on her face. The woman kept giggling in amusement as she stood up and made her way to the exit of the office. Passing halls and descending three floors, she found the exit of the building and, after removing the bloody body blocking it, pushed it open only to freeze on her way out. A trail of bloody footprints was trailing behind her.</p><p> </p><p>"Ah damn, I will have to clean my boots later." Looking around, she wiped the bloodied soles of her boots on the pants of the body beside her before walking out. She wasn't sure whether the blood was from when she landed on the guy's face or from all the blood on the carpet of the halls, but at least now she wouldn't leave a trail of footprints for any cops or other investigators to follow.</p><p> </p><p>She burst out laughing at the thought. That would have been a fun thing to do, indeed.</p><p> </p><p>The faint sound of police sirens reached her ears. Probably one of the neighbors heard the shooting. She shrugged indifferently to herself and expertly climbed over the fence of the property, hiding in a back ally. As the police cars were making a turn for the violated private property, she was already climbing her way up the nearby four-story building. By the time the police forces made their way inside, she was already three rooftops away.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Guess who's back!" she called out, closing the balcony door behind her. The gym bag was left on the nearest armchair as she made her way to the small room that served as an office. A pair of forest green eyes raised from the computer screen to acknowledge her with relief.</p><p> </p><p>"Glad to see you back unharmed. You came in through the balcony again?"</p><p> </p><p>"Of course I did! It's not as much fun to use the door." she replied in an obvious tone, seating herself on the nearest chair and tossing a sandwich on the desk with a smile. "I bought us dinner. Ate mine on the way here though."</p><p> </p><p>"After all the fight you put up there, I didn't expect you'd remember I haven't had lunch today. Thank you very much." The sandwich was left untouched though, the hand on the desk beside it tapping the wood with a finger. The woman noticed but chose only to give the other a curious, innocent-looking stare. Slowly, the speed of the tapping reduced like the person's anxiety until finally, it stopped. The room fell quiet for a couple of seconds before the green-eyed person spoke again. "There's something I know you would want to see."</p><p> </p><p>The woman wasted no time in hoisting herself on the desk by her hands, tilting her head so she could peek at the computer screen upside down, while the other explained the situation. " There have been a lot of deaths occurring in Japan for the past five days. An unnatural number of people have died from heart attacks, all of them being related to crimes in different ways, convicted criminals, suspects or otherwise. The Japanese police forces are going to attend to a conference tomorrow about it. They are already suspecting that something beyond natural causes is involved in this. Chances are high that the FBI might get its hands on it as well."</p><p> </p><p>"......surely...I mean, sadly, it can't be..."</p><p> </p><p>"No..." the informer agreed, their eyes traveling to one of the bookshelves in the corner, where a jar of dust was neatly placed between the books. Their next words were laced with sorrow. "It can't be, that's for sure."</p><p> </p><p>"Then...this is it." The woman raised her head the right way to look at the other, her lips stretching into a smile that would hurt any other person's cheeks. "New meetings, more fun, another adventure..."</p><p> </p><p>Her smile was returned in a softer way. "For once, I agree that you should get involved in a possibly deadly situation."</p><p> </p><p>"I think I'm getting the chills!" she laughed, pushing away from the desk to hug her trembling arms. And the laughter wouldn't stop. She kept going and going and going until she had to stop and take a deep breath. Looking up from her eyelashes, crazy eyes met forest-green ones, the smile turning psychotic. "I think it's time for a homecoming. Next stop, Japan."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, this is an idea I've had in my head for far too long. Time to try my first attempt at it! Comments are very welcomed as well as any notes that you might have on plot and/or personalities. I want to hear all that you have to say about it because this story has a very special place in my heart. Also, this story deals with a lot of canon details, and since I have only watched the anime, I apologize for any canon mistakes that might show up along the way. Misa fans, fair warning, there is a very high possibility that you won't like this work.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Neighborhood</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously, on "Death is so much fun"...</p>
<p>"I needed the knife back. You know how hard it is to find trusty weaponry like this?"</p>
<p>"Guess who's back!"</p>
<p>"There's something I know you would want to see." </p>
<p>" There have been a lot of deaths occurring in Japan for the past five days."</p>
<p>"For once, I agree that you should get involved in a possibly deadly situation."</p>
<p>"I think it's time for a homecoming. Next stop, Japan."</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Are you hearing this?" she asked with a confused frown, staring up at the ceiling of the hotel room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Depends on what exactly you want me to hear, Koroshi-ya." her friend replied, setting her laptop on the soft mattress of her bed. She noticed Koroshi-ya lazily waving her hand around the air from her laying position on her own bed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"This voice. It's saying that I should sleep because I need to rest. It's very annoying." she answered, her frown turning into a glare as she tried to ignore the irritating voice. She tried focusing on the dull sight of the ceiling until Hogo-sha's upside-down face blocked her line of sight. She looked sympathetic again. That look never ceased to confuse Koroshi-ya. "I wish I could say I hear it too, but I don't."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ah. So, it's in my head again. Great, how will I shut it up now...?" she pouted, turning on her stomach to hide her face on the sheets. Hogo-sha rubbed her back comfortingly and sighed, leaving her bedside to move to her own. After swiftly removing her shoes, she climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged on it, moving the laptop to her lap and turning it on. She allowed herself to get consumed by her work for a few minutes, setting the room in peaceful silence, which for the two of them was a very rare thing. However, her always concerned self urged her to turn her gaze to the body on the other bed after full five minutes had passed. Koroshi-ya was still in the same position as before, but Hogo-sha knew better than to assume that she was asleep. "Any luck silencing the voice?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She only heard the muffled voice coming from the sheets but was unable to make out what had been said. Koroshi-ya most likely figured that she didn't like how the bed was blocking her voice because a few moments later she turned her head to the side and faced Hogo-sha. She pouted again. "It's still there and getting louder."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hogo-sha felt a sting inside her at the complaining tone of her friend's voice. She didn't get to hear that tone often and whenever she did, it reminded her of when they were both kids, back when Koroshi-ya's childishness was less murderous. Hogo-sha had very good reasons to hate that time. "Maybe if you listen to it, it will go away. It's true that we could both use some rest after such a long trip."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"But I don't want toooooo!" In a flash, she jumped off of the bed and drew open the curtains of the balcony overlooking the tall buildings of the Tohoku region. "I'm so excited to meet this self-righteous murderer that the idea of sleeping offends me! The amount of entertainment they are going to give me is far greater than any other pleasure I've experienced before! I'm actually considering not to kill them, do you realize how big of a deal this is?!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hogo-sha chuckled lightly at Koroshi-ya's excitement, glad that she had the chance to see her so cheerful again. Whenever her friend was cheerful, it almost always happened during her killings, which meant that Hogo-sha wasn't there to witness it. It was how things worked between them. Koroshi-ya would deal with the killing and Hogo-sha would help her from a distance. It didn't sound like much but both of them knew without Hogo-sha, Koroshi-ya probably wouldn't have lived this long with the hobbies she had. "Yes, I know why this is so important to you. It's important for me as well, you know that. Keep in mind, though, that most likely it would be better if you kill them. Whether they are alive or not, it won't change the actual reason for our eagerness."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"But it <em>will </em>change the situation." she pointed out, turning to face Hogo-sha. The smile on her face could have resembled the one of a happy seven-year-old if it weren't for the insane glint shining in her eyes. "With the police getting suspicious about those murders from heart attacks, it's only a matter of time before they realize that a human is behind this. The one behind this will have to somehow escape the police. And if my gut is right, which it is, then our murderer will slip from the police's hands again and again and again, until they get caught by Interpol...or my knife. Either way, I will be having the time of my life watching them trying to get away with murder. Well, with <em>murders </em>in this case."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That would be something new, for sure." Hogo-sha agreed, turning to her computer screen once more. "I sure hope your gut is right. We haven't seen a criminal-police chase in forever. From what I have gathered so far, it's unclear who will be a part of the investigation team. The conference isn't over yet... Apart from that, I discovered a significant amount of new websites that refer to the murderer as 'Kira', meaning killer. Apparently, people are becoming aware of the humane presence behind the killings."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kira, huh? Sounds lovely." Koroshi-ya giggled, flopping down by Hogo-sha's side so she could sneak a peek at her laptop screen whenever she felt like doing so. "Figures that the masses would believe a person is behind this. It's amusing how people place the responsibility of all things remarkable on some kind of higher power or person. Sheep can't go on living without a shepherd and a wolf in their life after all."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You don't sound like you consider yourself one of those 'sheep'."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Of course not." she answered with a smile, winking at her friend. "I am the hound with rabies. I gather the sheep and attack because I can't help it."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hogo-sha couldn't help the smile that emerged on her face. "That does sound a lot like you indeed."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A comfortable silence settled between the two after that, during which Hogo-sha made a list of all the criminals that were killed by heart attacks the past few days and studied the time of death for each of them. Koroshi-ya studied how her friend worked, her eyes passing over the letters and numbers without understanding much. She wasn't interested in understanding the meaning behind them. That was Hogo-sha's area of expertise. She was the one who loved thinking and solving, whereas Koroshi-ya was the one who loved reading her targets and then killing them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What...?" Koroshi-ya's eyes snapped up to Hogo-sha's face though, despite her friend's surprised expression, she remained as calm and indifferent as ever. "Found something?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"The time of death. The criminals weren't killed at random times but during specific time periods of every day. I compared those hours to the office hours stated in Japan's laws, but they don't match. On the contrary, those hours match most school schedules. Classes end around late morning and any extra lessons begin around early noon. Most of the criminals died during that time-space between school hours and extra lesson hours. Apart from that, there was a small number of them that died during night hours, right after the end of extra classes. During weekends and holidays, the criminals were killed with no pattern whatsoever. These lead to the conclusion that Kira is most likely a student, specifically in high school." Hogo-sha mumbled, typing on her laptop with newfound speed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's great, Hogo-sha!" Koroshi-ya beamed, bouncing on the bed beside her friend. "You managed to narrow down our suspect list by a lot the very first day we came here!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm happy that you are pleased but, I'm afraid we did little progress. The number of high schools in Japan isn't a small one and most of those high schools have thousands of students. Finding Kira won't be an easy task." she said, rubbing the tiredness off of her eyes. Deciding to let her eyes rest from staring at the laptop's screen for so long, she took hold of the remote control and turned on the TV of their room to the news channel in case they would announce more heart attacks. What she saw, though, was something she couldn't have seen coming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"We interrupt this program to bring you a special, worldwide broadcast from the ICPO, Interpol."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Huh? Worldwide broadcast?" Koroshi-ya tilted her head to the side curiously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Interpol? They got involved so soon?" Hogo-sha asked in disbelief, staring intently as the screen changed to show a tall, serious man with a name tag on the desk he was seated on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"I am the sole person able to mobilize the world's police. I am Lind L. Tailor. Also known as L."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Whoa!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What?!" Hogo-sha gripped the mattress so she wouldn't fall off the bed. L was on <em>TV </em>?! That guy had never shown his face to anyone, let alone the whole world! What was he doing now?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I never thought L bold enough to show his face on TV. Guess he is the kind of fella who is willing to get himself into trouble just to provoke Kira." chuckled Koroshi-ya.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hogo-sha glanced sideways at Koroshi-ya. Indeed showing his face on TV was too bold for such a gifted detective like him, bold enough to be foolish. It was careless. L wasn't careless, he wouldn't be one of the world's greatest detectives if he were careless. Even if he wanted to provoke Kira into making a move like Koroshi-ya unconsciously pointed out, he wouldn't go so far as to show his face and full name to the whole world.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her shoulders slowly relaxed. This wasn't the real L. He was a fake. And since Interpol was the one behind the broadcast, that only confirmed Koroshi-ya's thoughts. This broadcast was aiming to provoke a reaction from Kira. But, for whatever reason? Showing a face and a valid name was all that Kira needed to kill if her and Koroshi-ya's suspicions about him were right. So, could it be possible that Interpol wanted to confirm just that? Did they want to provoke Kira into killing Tailor the way he killed the other criminals without actually being close to them? Kira had only killed criminals so far, which could only mean that he was trying to pass some sort of justice to the whole world. L, or rather Lind, was no criminal. On the other hand, he was an obstacle to Kira's path of justice. What will Kira decide to do then?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"There has been a string of serial killings targeting criminals. This is the most atrocious act of murder in history, and it will not go unpunished. I will definitely catch the one behind the murders, commonly known as Kira. Kira, I have a pretty good idea behind your motive. But, what you are doing is evil."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Evil...that's what they were playing at. Kira most likely saw himself as a person who passed judgment and was creating a just world. Calling him evil was meant to strike a nerve.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There were several seconds of silence from Lind L. Tailor, as if he was expecting something to happen. And then, without a warning, his eyes widened with terror and he clutched his chest in pain just before he collapsed on the desk. He never pushed himself back up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Interpol apparently managed to strike a nerve.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well someone is easily offended. But that reaction is a bit much. Cutting three fingers would be better." giggled Koroshi-ya as two men removed the body off-screen. "Kira needs to take a class for anger management."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hogo-sha had no time to comment on that one before the screen became white and the letter <strong>L</strong> was displayed. A mechanical voice echoed from the TV screen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"Unbelievable. I had to check to be sure. You're capable of this? Kira, it seems you can kill people without direct contact."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No shit!" Koroshi-ya exclaimed in surprise. "Now <em>that </em>is a revelation! Who would have thought! I knew it from the start!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Koroshi-ya, shh." Hogo-sha softly hushed her, not taking her eyes off the screen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"...if you just killed the man on-screen, Lind L. Tailor, you just killed a man who was scheduled to be executed today. It wasn't me."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>I knew</em> <em>it...</em> Hogo-sha bit her lip in thought. <em>L wouldn't do such a reckless thing without a purpose.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Koroshi-ya chuckled. "Great, he got him."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"But I, L, do exist! Bring it on! Try and kill me! What's wrong? Do it quickly! Come on, kill me! What's the matter? Can't you do it? It seems that you can't kill me. So, there are some people whom you can't kill. You've given me a good clue. I'll tell you something good in return. I told you that this is a live broadcast worldwide, but this is only being broadcast in the Kanto region of Japan."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kanto region?!" Hogo-sha stood up now, staring at the screen with wide eyes. L had just given them a very important clue.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"A high school student in the Kanto region! That surely narrows down the list!" beamed Koroshi-ya, bouncing off the bed in excitement. Her fingers started twitching in anticipation. "And since we are in the Tohoku region, in Fukushima, the Kanto region is right beside it! We are closer than we thought, Hogo-sha!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"You are in Japan and your first victim paws your guinea pig. You're just lucky that you are in Kanto, the most heavily populated region in Japan. I never thought that things would go quite so well, but... Kira, it won't be too long before I can sentence you to death. Kira, I'm interested in how you commit the murders. But, I'll find that out when I catch you. Until we meet again, Kira."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The broadcast ended there. Hogo-sha wasted no time and went back to her laptop, searching for the first kill of Kira's and comparing the times of death with the other criminals that were killed on that same day. L's trick had helped her narrow down Kira's whereabouts but, she would have to try narrowing it down even more. As the detective said, Kanto was the most heavily populated region in Japan. She and Koroshi-ya couldn't actually go to blindly search the whole region.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Koroshi-ya peaked at the laptop screen from behind Hogo-sha's shoulder. "What are you doing now? L gave us the information we needed."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kanto is a big region. I am trying to see if I can pinpoint where exactly in Kanto he is. The first criminal Kira killed can't be considered a hint about Kira's whereabouts. The man was holding hostage a whole school and collapsed during that time. Since the situation was being recorded by the TV camera crew, Kira could kill the man without actually being close to that school. After that, he started killing criminals nonstop, as if they were flies, until the late hours of the night. What doesn't make sense, though, is the period of time that intervened between the first kill and the others. Why would Kira wait at least three hours after his guinea pig to start killing again?" Hogo-sha explained, opening footage from the few surveillance cameras on the streets.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Koroshi-ya tilted her head to the side, tapping one of the tattoos across her cheek with a finger. "That's weird, alright... I wish I could have been there, you know? To see his face when he first realized that he had killed that guy. The look must have been priceless!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"The look on his face...?" Hogo-sha glanced at Koroshi-ya in realization. "You're right... You're absolutely right!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I know that, but why does it surprise you that much?" she asked, frowning in confusion.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kira must have been in shock when he first realized that he was able to kill people so easily. Any normal person would stop immediately after the first shock would pass, but since he decided to go so far as to kill every criminal he could, he must be a calculative person. He must have double-checked his newfound ability during that three-hour space between the first victim and all the others that followed that day." Hogo-sha was tapping on her laptop's keyboard like crazy, reading online newspapers and watching every camera footage from Kanto streets she could find. "If my theory is right, he must have killed another person sometime around late noon. There was no report of another heart attack on a criminal around that time from what I can see, so there is a possibility that Kira killed in a different way."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Koroshi-ya sat behind Hogo-sha on the bed once again, staring dumbly at the laptop screen. "So you are looking for people that were killed around that time in Kanto?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes. Given the fact that I am looking for footage at a specific time, it reduces the amount I need to watch. But, since Kanto is a big region, this procedure is bound to take a while." Hogo-sha mumbled, slowly spacing out from what was going on around her, her full attention on the camera footage.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Koroshi-ya shrugged and laid down on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest to become a small ball. "Well, wake me up when you find what you're looking for. The voice in my head has been pestering me all this time and I could do nothing to stop it. So, I'll just surrender this time and sleep."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was no answer from Hogo-sha, not that Koroshi-ya expected one. </p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p>Koroshi-ya felt something touching her shoulder in her slumber. Two seconds later, she had jolted up from the bed, grabbed the front of a person's shirt and was pointing one of her knives to their throat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Easy, easy! It's just me!" Hogo-sha exclaimed, raising her hands up in surrender. Her friend stared into her forest green eyes for a good three seconds before she let go of her shirt and dropped the knife on the mattress. No apology was needed or given. "You...found something?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes." Hogo-sha smiled softly and pulled her laptop closer to Koroshi-ya so she could see for herself. The footage of a street camera showed the parking of a bookshop, in which a gang of motorbikers was harassing and attacking a young woman. She managed to escape and run across the road, but one of the riders followed her on his motorbike. Just as he was crossing the road right on her tail, a truck smashed against him, reducing the vehicle to pieces.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Koroshi-ya watched the footage unfazed, then looked up at Hogo-sha. "So you think Kira witnessed that and killed him?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"This must be what happened." Hogo-sha explained. "That man's death didn't reach the news, so he most likely isn't a known criminal that Kira could easily lookup online. Also, the timing of his death saved the girl just in time. This can't be a coincidence. Kira was a witness to that harassment, probably from inside that bookshop, so he acted right on time."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"And... you're saying that Kira lives somewhere close to that bookshop?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Exactly. I've already figured that Kira must be a high school student, which means that he can't have a driver's license yet. The only way for him to go from place to place would be either by walking or using public transport. That day, Kira came back from school and a while later killed the guy holding hostage those kids. Then, he went out to double-check his new ability. It wouldn't make sense to go through the trouble of taking public transport to just reach a bookshop, so he must have walked there. The time between the first kill and what we can now assume is the second kill is roughly one hour."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hogo-sha opened an online map of the city in which the bookshop was. Calculating the walking distance, she drew an invisible circle on the area, the bookshop being right in the center. "The circle includes all the private properties that are within one hour's walking distance from the bookshop. Kira must live in one of them."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You cute little genius!" laughed Koroshi-ya, jumping up and hugging Hogo-sha. "Thanks to you, I can finally go for some tracking down!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Koroshi-ya, it's nighttime. That region isn't within walking distance of our hotel." Hogo-sha pointed out, gasping for air from Koroshi-ya's tight hug until the later finally released her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'll just jump on the train and get there. Once I am in that neighborhood, I'll go from the rooftops. Easy peasy!" she said, waving Hogo-sha off. She walked over to a closet and grabbed her jacket from inside, putting it on before making her way to the window and opening it. As the cold wind filled the hotel room and blew her hair around her face, she turned her head to face Hogo-sha one more time. "You just make sure to find us a hotel in Kanto, 'kay?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not waiting for a response, Koroshi-ya jumped out of the window and swiftly made her way down to an ally, using the balconies to jump her way down. Once her boots hit the pavement, she made a dash for the ally, heading to the train station. The ride from there to Kira's neighborhood was uneventful. She casually jumped on top of the train and didn't get off of it until she reached her destination. Thankfully, she had remembered to bring her jacket along because, by the time she got off the train, she was trembling from the cold. She had to give her body a couple of minutes to stop trembling before she left the station.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finding the bookshop was easy. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop was easy as well. Sneaking inside the houses was the difficult part. In order to find Kira, she had to figure out which of the houses were inhabited by families with older children and that required some sneaking inside. Koroshi-ya had no trouble getting inside. What was bothering her was how time-consuming it was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sometime past midnight she stopped on one of the rooftops and stretched her back. After hours of twisting her muscles, a little stretch was exactly what she needed before continuing her search. Her back cracked slightly, causing a sigh of relief to escape her lips. She absentmindedly looked at the house across the street, which was next to her list.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"...huh?" She squinted her eyes, looking closely at the balcony door of the second floor. The curtains were drawn shut, but she still could see some light from the cracks. Someone was still up, from the looks of it. She smiled and made her way over there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She managed to land on the balcony silently and instantly felt chills running down her spine. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Her smile widened even further.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The voice of a boy could barely be heard from inside the room. "Is that right, Ryuk?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was no answer. Koroshi-ya covered her mouth to keep her laughter under control. She wasn't surprised when the boy kept talking as if he had been given a reply to his question. "In other words, if I write 'heart attack' as the cause of death, I can write down the circumstance and time of death. Looks like I may be able to provide you a little more entertainment, Ryuk."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As much as she wanted to stay and eavesdrop more or barge inside the room and announce herself, Koroshi-ya climbed down the house, looked once at the address and the name on the doorbell and glanced at the balcony one last time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. "Found you." </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A new chapter so soon??? I guess I was too excited to continue, after all. Don't forget to comment on anything that you liked and let me know your thoughts about this chapter! Hope you liked it!</p>
<p>Preview:</p>
<p>"I'm ready for my great comeback!"</p>
<p>"I believe you already know this but, if you do that you will be humiliating him."</p>
<p>"Did you all miss me?"</p>
<p>"You're officially a target for ICPO and a serial killer."</p>
<p>"When are you planning to make an entrance?"</p>
<p>"Surprise!"</p>
<p>"Are you here to kill me?"</p>
<p>"When it comes to me, you will only know what I want you to know."</p>
<p>"Do I look like someone who has some form of ID on her?"</p>
<p>"I will see you rise up to the top and then I'll laugh after seeing how bad you'll fall."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Visitor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously, on "Death is so much fun"...</p><p>"I'm so excited to meet this self-righteous murderer that the idea of sleeping offends me!"</p><p>"Kira, huh? Sounds lovely."</p><p>"Kira needs to take a class for anger management."</p><p>"What are you doing now? L gave us the information we needed."</p><p>"Found you."</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"No, absolutely not! That will only happen over my dead body!"</p><p> </p><p>"...That's a very poor choice of words for someone like you, Hogo-sha. Were you not on my side, I would have taken you up on that offer."</p><p> </p><p>"Koroshi-ya, I'm being serious."</p><p> </p><p>"So am I."</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha heaved a sigh that had her shoulders dropping, her hands coming up to rub at her eyes. Her body language screamed psychological tiredness mixed with sleepless nights and a far from adequate nutrition. She was a wreck, to say the least. "Izi, please..."</p><p> </p><p>The sound of the all too familiar whisper of a nickname had Koroshi-ya snapping her full attention to the other woman, muscles tensing from her otherwise relaxed position on the hotel bed. No matter her... <em>unique </em>personality, even she knew that when Hogo-sha called her by anything other than the names they both had decided to use, it meant that she was reaching her limits. Koroshi-ya hated it when her friend was at her limits. Mostly because of the sole purpose of sticking with the woman being that she wanted her to be well.</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha took a moment to compose herself before pulling her gaze up to meet Koroshi-ya's. For a moment, her eyes didn't just look tired. They looked <em>defeated. </em>Begging for no more obstacles than she had already encountered the past two days. "Please, don't fight me on this one. It's too early for you to cause so much havoc. We won't be able to pull it off. It's too dangerous."</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Dangerous?</em>" Koroshi-ya stood slowly from the bed and made her way towards the chair her friend was sitting in. Taking her time. "Sugar, how can you say such a thing? And I thought <em>I</em> was the one sick on the head. What you claim to be so dangerous..."</p><p> </p><p>She slammed her hands on the arms of the chair hard enough to shake the whole thing up, earning a tiny flinch from the green-eyed woman. Bending enough so she was looming over her, Koroshi-ya brought her face a breath away from Hogo-sha, staring her dead in the eye. A few moments passed in complete silence as they stared at each other unmovingly before an unnaturally excited smile split Koroshi-ya's face. "...is the very thing we've been doing all these years, silly!"</p><p> </p><p>She should be afraid. Anyone facing Koroshi-ya's smile would be afraid. Except for Hogo-sha. Not because she was brave, no. Truth be told, it was their history that gave her the privilege of not being afraid of her murderous psycho friend. So, it was no surprise, for either of the two, when she voiced her thoughts without stuttering. "Right, I used the wrong words. Let me rephrase that."</p><p> </p><p>Never giving her voice a sarcastic undertone, it was a characteristic her personality never really possessed, she let her head rest on the chair's back. "What you are suggesting we do is <em>more dangerous </em>to be done so soon, because what we are facing this time can't be compared to the others."</p><p> </p><p>"More fun for me then!" Koroshi-ya exclaimed, raising her hands from the chair in a motion that showed clearly how obvious her statement sounded in her ears.</p><p> </p><p>"Besides..." Hogo-sha continued, choosing to not attempt to comment on her friend's exclamation. "...we've only just arrived. We've been here for just a couple of days and during that time, I had been keeping a close eye on Kira. What you are asking would require an amount of information that I don't have and, in order to obtain that, I should get my attention off of Kira for a whole of twelve hours <em>at the least</em>. I highly doubt we have that kind of liberty."</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya whined in a complaint, waving her hands around to emphasize her words. "Oh come on! How much longer do you have to keep an eye on him?! We know everything we needed to learn about him, name, and address! I've killed targets with less info than that, you know it's true! And, let's not forget that we haven't been home in years! I am <em>itching </em>to say 'hello'!"</p><p> </p><p>She threw her hands up in the air, yelling up at the ceiling. "I'm ready for my great comeback!"</p><p> </p><p>Both women turned their heads at the sound of banging against the wall connecting their room with the next one. That was the third time their neighbor had opted for banging his fist on the wall to remind them that their yelling was annoying him. Koroshi-ya's face was a comical combination of confusion and exasperation as she stared at the wall even after the banging had stopped her arms still in the air.</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha was the first to return to their conversation, this time minding her voice to be more discreet. The last thing she wanted was for the guy next door to start paying attention to their conversation instead of assaulting the connecting wall, after all. "Unfortunately, if you want to pull what you're suggesting off, you're not the only one who has to be ready for that great comeback."</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya slowly lowered her arms to her sides, tilting innocently her head to the side at the tired undertone that had once again returned to the other woman's voice. Despite the fact that Hogo-sha never complained about any of her problems, she wasn't bothering to hide her internal struggle with them. Most of the time, she didn't have the energy to hide it. "Yes, I guess that's because you've been killing yourself while watching Kira playing with his toys."</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha raised her gaze to her. "It was necessary-"</p><p> </p><p>"Nah, it was bullshit. Be honest." she interrupted her, waving her off lazily. "I brought you a full name and an address. Two days later, the guy is surprisingly still alive, even more surprisingly I have killed no one and you, good heavens, are dying over keeping track of Kira's movements, which include simply killing people every hour and taunting the police. I am considering checking your temperature because all of this useless work is something you are allergic to. Usually."</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha tried to counter. "I can hardly call it 'useless'. His movements show that he is aware of police's suspicions about Kira and he is taking full advantage of it."</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya doubled over in hysterical laughter, hands clutching her stomach. "A-and it took you <em>this </em>long to figure it out?! His dad is in the <em>force</em>! You said so yourself! Call me crazy, mad, lunatic, or whatever, I <em>am</em> all that, but even I can understand how important his daddy's job is for him!"</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha had her head lowered, her light brown curls shielding her face from the world as she let the other woman laugh away all she liked. For the first time in two days, she noticed how much the limited food she received was making her tummy protest. Her eyes glanced at the trembling from laughter form standing across from her. Her voice came out as a whisper. "I was stalling."</p><p> </p><p>The laughter was abruptly cut short and any hope of not being heard was extinguished from Hogo-sha's chest. She slowly raised her head to look at Koroshi-ya better. The woman hadn't moved from her bent position, but the trembling and the laughter had stopped. If the green-eyed woman didn't know better, she would have assumed that her friend had frozen in surprise. Though that was never the case when it came to that particular woman.</p><p> </p><p>Ever so slowly, Koroshi-ya's head tilted up and met Hogo-sha's gaze. Her eyes narrowed in perplexion. "Say what now?"</p><p> </p><p>The brunette let out a breath. "I knew you would want to go after Kira the moment we'd learn who he is. So, these past few days I had been stalling that desire of yours by keeping an eye on him while hiding all the info I gathered about other targets around Japan."</p><p> </p><p>A few precious moments passed before she received a mischievous smile. "Sneaky Hogo-sha... Now, <em>that's</em> something I never expected to say!"</p><p> </p><p>Even though she hadn't asked, Hogo-sha could feel the need to explain herself choking her from the inside. "I'm sorry, Izi... I wanted to buy us some time to organize before jumping right into it like usual. Because, this time, we are facing something way beyond anything we've ever encountered. I don't want to risk you getting hurt."</p><p> </p><p>"Couldn't you have stalled without dying in the process, you idiot?"</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha stilled at that as Koroshi-ya slowly rose to her full height, a smile of sick amusement playing on her lips. "It's not unusual of you to forget your body's existence when you work, but this time you even had me worried. Yesterday I was staring at you for two and a half hours, trying to decide if I should knock you out cold to get you to sleep or choke you with three bowls of ramen to make you eat."</p><p> </p><p>"I think I would have preferred the sleep..." she answered with a small fond smile. To others, Koroshi-ya's statement would have sounded unsettling and scary. But Hogo-sha knew her well enough to understand the protective and caring thought behind it.</p><p> </p><p>"In that case, you would have resembled the corpses of my targets, all limp and pale. The only thing missing would be the bloodied, gaping wound." she shrugged, uttering the words with the same ease someone would talk about the weather.</p><p> </p><p>A faint hum was the only response she got from the brunette. Slowly, her eyes fell on the woman's seated form, running all over her figure and taking in every little detail that indicated how much she needed a rest. The way her body was sprawled on the chair made it look as if she would melt against the furniture at any moment now. It wasn't uncommon for her to work herself to her limits every time they had to deal with a new target, but this time she had gone too far, even for someone like her.</p><p> </p><p>"I will go to buy something edible for you. Do me a favor and find me a toy, pretty please. Preferably one that has a good face for TV." She didn't wait for a response as she walked to the room's closet and opened it, kneeling down and pulling out a gym bag in which the two women stored their money.</p><p> </p><p>An exhausted sigh sounded from behind her back. "You still insist on the broadcast."</p><p> </p><p>The fact that it wasn't a question, but more of a statement, brought a wide smile on her bubblegum pink lips as she unzipped the bag and shoved her hand inside, randomly grabbing one of the numerous packs of money. "Of course I do! And since you worked on it for these past two days, behind my back, the arrangements you'll have to do now will require less work from you."</p><p> </p><p>After storing the pack of money in an inside pocket of her jacket, she stood to her full height and kicked the bag inside the closet before closing its doors. She turned to make her way towards the door but stopped short when she saw Hogo-sha typing away on her laptop. It was obvious to the eye that she had given up on trying to convince her not to go through with the broadcast, and instead, she had chosen to kill herself some more by working on the necessary arrangements right away.</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha's eyes were flicking over the information in front of her with speed acquired from years of experience. Pulling up the data she had collected on numerous possible targets, she held back a sigh as she blinked her tiredness away. She had known that Koroshi-ya would have asked for a grant way to announce her arrival to Japan, but she had hoped it wouldn't be so early on the Kira case. With the Japanese police only starting to create Kira's profile and the relationship between the police task force and L being at a beginner level, drawing so much attention was bound to create some problems. But, she had known her stalling would be proved useless. It was a matter of time before the police, Kira, or <em>both </em>took notice of her presence in Japan. And truthfully, it was best to be able to decide when you would reveal yourself than getting caught off guard.</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha had barely enough time to pull her fingers away from the keyboard before the laptop's screen came down on it. She stared with surprise at the metal tips keeping her laptop shut. Slowly, another hand came into her view, long fingers softly wrapping around her chin and tilting her head back so her forest green eyes met with blood-red ones.</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya wasn't smiling when she spoke."You will work on it only after I make you look less like a corpse."</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha stared deep into her blood-red eyes before a small grateful smile crossed her lips. Satisfied with her reaction, Koroshi-ya let go of her friend's chin and walked over to the door. When her fingers wrapped around the door handle and her wrist twisted it to open the door, Hogo-sha spoke up once again.</p><p>"One last thing before you leave... About the broadcast." Koroshi-ya hummed to let her know that she was listening.  "I believe you already know this but, if you do that you will be humiliating him."</p><p>The corners of her lips stretched up into a wide, giddy, toothy smile.</p><p>"Of course, anything for my Kira."</p><hr/><p>
  <em>"We interrupt our program to bring you the broadcast of live footage from the 'Million Building', the residence which is said to be housing groups of drug dealers and loan sharks."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Light turned his gaze to the TV screen at the mention of the 'Million Building' in suspicion. That five-story building has been a pain for the Japanese police for years. There was no doubt that it provided shelter and a hideout to the most wanted drug dealers and loan sharks, but the police had never been able to dig up enough valuable evidence to prove its theories, let alone live footage from inside the place, so the criminals kept using the building for their own profit with no trouble for a long time. Any news concerning that nest of criminals was of utmost importance, both to the police and, of course, Kira.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"The source of the live footage remains unknown, though the latest information indicates that the person responsible is the worldwide number one serial killer known as Koroshi-ya, the 'maniac murderer' who began her killing spree in Japan five years ago."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"What-! Koroshi-ya?!" Light exclaimed, barely holding himself before he could jump from his chair.</p><p> </p><p>Ryuk beside him bent forward the slightest bit to take a better look at the TV screen, his interest suddenly picked. "Hn? Maniac murderer?"</p><p> </p><p>The people of Japan had given her that name when she first made her appearance as a mentally unstable serial killer. There was not a single person in Japan who hadn't heard of her. She was known for killing only criminals, but that was little comfort to everything else. She was also known for broadcasting her killings, killings that were always brutal and executed in ways that common murderers would never imagine. At first, she seemed to only be a problem for Japan. But, when she left the country for no apparent reason and moved to America and then Europe, Japan was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. On the other hand, Koroshi-ya became a problem for the entire world and made it known to every country. No one was safe from her.</p><p> </p><p>The possibility of her being back in Japan was sure to spread panic across the country.</p><p> </p><p><em>"</em> <em>We're presenting to you the footage now."</em></p><p> </p><p>The image on the screen changed to a spacious, dimly lit room. The camera recording it must have been positioned on a higher level, close to the ceiling because the majority of the room could be seen. On closer inspection, it seemed to be a storage room. Half of the space was filled with rows upon rows of heavy-duty shelving, countless plastic packages filling each shelf, stacked neatly on top of each other. The led office lights hanging off the ceiling were illuminating the entirety of the room.</p><p> </p><p>And in the center of it all, there she stood, smiling wide as always.</p><p> </p><p>It seemed that she hadn’t changed at all during those five years. Her black hair was still messy, reaching somewhere below her back, the two ponytails framing each side of her face having maintained their own length over her shoulders. The pink strands between the raven locks seemed to stand out more than the last time she had appeared on TV. Her attire was the same. The same red, V-neck top and tights, the same black shorts and knee-high boots. The black, short-sleeved leather jacket was hugging her torso, the long black, and red striped fingerless gloves, giving her outfit the finishing touches, along with the countless gothic jewels on her hands, neck, ears, and hair.</p><p> </p><p>But the feature that looked different every time she would make an appearance was her tattoos. The numerous, multicolored lines of every size crossing and curling over her deathly pale skin. Her natural, facial features could hardly be distinguished because of the many ink lines covering her face. Her eyelids were completely black, the corners ending in black pointed tips that stretched all the way to the hairline on the sides of her face. Her lips were a sick purple, lines stretching from the corners and curling up from her cheeks to cross the ones on the corners of her eyes, making her smile appear far too outstretched. And those were just the most prominent lines on her face.</p><p> </p><p>To top the whole horrifying look off, her irises were dark to the point of blackness, the white of her eyes has given its place to a blood-red color.</p><p> </p><p>"Hellooo people!" She shouted out to the camera, her hands stretching out in the air. Her excitement was more than a little unsettling. "Did you all miss me?"</p><p> </p><p>She stared at the camera expectantly, as if waiting for a response, smile never faltering.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, I certainly hope you didn't, because if you did, you have some serious issues." she said in mock disapproval, giggling right after. Her hands moved as she talked as an extension of her body, ensuring that the attention of her audience remained on her. Not that there was any doubt about that. "I, on the other hand, missed you all. But, now I am here! So, I believe you all know what that means!"</p><p> </p><p>The faint sound of multiple rushing footsteps made her look over her shoulder to the door on her left. Muffled male voices echoed behind the door, giving her smile a hint of sinister delight.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes glanced sideways at the camera just as the door burst open."Back to killing filthy scum it is…"</p><p> </p><p>The men that rushed inside cursed and opened fire, while she jumped behind a row of shelves and took cover. The footage switched to another camera that had a clear view of the woman’s hiding place. As the bullets kept bouncing off the surfaces around her, Koroshi-ya took hold of a drug package in each hand and addressed the camera once more, faking a serious look that barely contained the smile she wanted to reveal. "Warning, the scenes you're about to see contain explicit violence, drugs, and death. I advise you don't allow underage people to watch."</p><p> </p><p>With that, the packages in her hands went flying towards the shooters, followed by two more. Bullets went through them, causing small explosions of drug dust that rose in the air, creating a temporary fog.</p><p> </p><p>The footage switched to another camera as the shooting stopped, the men coughing and covering their mouths and noses as best they could, questioning one another where the intruder was. Their shouting soon turned to surprised cries as her hands started grabbing them one by one, pulling them deeper into the fog, grunts and other disturbing sounds following shortly after each cry.</p><p> </p><p>When the fog dissolved completely, nine men were still standing, the other fourteen laying on the floor in all sorts of different positions that would be impossible to get into unless you were willing to break a few bones of your body.</p><p> </p><p>The culprit was nowhere to be found, though.</p><p> </p><p>The few remaining men cautiously moved around the room and between the shelves, guns at the ready. A few minutes passed in complete silence, but despite their efforts, there was no sign of Koroshi-ya.</p><p> </p><p>“Oi, up here guys! I found her!” she yelled, drawing the men’s eyes to the top shelf of four-meter high shelving, on which she was perched, knees drawn to her chest. Not giving them the chance to point their guns at her, she pushed her legs forward with a bark of laughter, kicking the shelving across from her. The shelving fell on the one next to it, setting a domino effect that resulted in the men getting buried under the iron structures and dozens of drug packages. The sounds of the collapsing shelving shook the whole room and made the cameras all around tremble.</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya casually leaped from the top shelf of the remaining shelving and landed smoothly on her feet, walking closer to one of the cameras, but not before the heel of her boot gave the shelving the small push it needed to come crashing down behind her. The woman addressed the camera without paying much attention to the mess she had created, demeanor cheerful and light. “So! You’re probably wondering why I am back, right? Well, you know what they say, there’s no place like home!”</p><p> </p><p>Light heard a faint chuckle by his ear and barely held back from sending a glare at the Shinigami to his right. He ignored the momentary distraction and refocused on the footage right as the murderer resumed her talking. “No no, that’s not the sole reason, really. No, the thing is that I came back because-“</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya was interrupted by grunting that turned her attention to two men who had managed to crawl their way out from beneath the shelving. The woman raised a finger to the camera in a ‘just a second’ gesture before making her way behind the two men. She waited for them to rise to their knees and then grabbed each by the hair, violently connecting their foreheads together and letting them drop unconscious to the floor with a small ‘oops’ from her.</p><p> </p><p>She made a show of dusting herself off and turned her head back to the camera. “As I was saying, I came back because I heard that- “ She cut herself off just in time to duck a punch from behind, the fist belonging to another guy that had managed to get out of the shelving alive. She grabbed his wrist before he could pull away and brought her elbow back to his face, the force making the back of his head crack against the wall behind him.</p><p> </p><p>As she let go of his wrist, his body slid down the wall, a trail of blood staining the concrete wall. “I heard that there was a-“</p><p> </p><p>“You bitch!” The last man to have survived so far cursed and charged at her.</p><p> </p><p>“I am trying to speak here!” she yelled at him in frustration, dodging his punch and countering with a hit to his throat with the tips of her fingers that momentarily made the breath catch in his throat. As he clutched his aching body part, she used the piles of broken shelving as a boost to jump to the ceiling and grab a hold of one of the LED office lights.</p><p> </p><p>"Do not try this at home, you all." she called out, swinging her legs forcefully enough to detach the light from the ceiling.</p><p> </p><p>"Mostly because..." Her feet landed on the guy’s chest, knocking him down to the floor, hands bringing the light she was still holding down to his face, a small explosion of energy causing the light to flicker and the guy to shake violently. After the explosion died down, both the light and the body’s movement faded away. "...it will blow your mind away."</p><p> </p><p>She laughed at her own joke as she stood up, stepping on the dead body beneath her to reach the nearest camera, one hand running through her long hair. “Where was I…? Oh, yes! I was drawn back here because I heard you have a new fellow around here, someone who is trying to be the hero.” Her face took on a contemplative look for a moment, appearing to be in deep thought. “What was his name…? Kira, wasn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Light’s eyes widened with a sound of surprise. The most infamous criminal in the world had been drawn to Japan because of Kira? What was that supposed to mean? Was he competition for her? Or did she see him as a bigger challenge for her?</p><p> </p><p>“I hear that he is killing off the bad guys…So, I thought, maybe this guy’s ‘To Kill’ list includes fish of my size, right?” she smiled, winking at the camera. “What do you say, Kira? Would you like to kill me?”</p><p> </p><p>Light’s surprise made him lose control and he rose from the chair, eyes never wavering from the TV screen.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, Kira! Kill me! I’m sure most people would appreciate it! Kill me, Kira! What are you waiting for?! I’m not hiding like that detective, L! I’m right here! Hurry up and kill me! Come on!” Her voice grew louder with every sentence, her excitement and adrenaline skyrocketing.</p><p> </p><p>Ryuk chuckled openly beside Light. “She’s provoking you.”</p><p> </p><p>That she was. Not only that, but she was humiliating him as well. He couldn’t kill her, the most wanted criminal in the world unless he knew her name. The fact that the worst of the worst criminals was daring Kira, the God who passed justice on every single criminal on the planet, to kill her while the people of Japan were watching was damaging enough for his public image. But the fact that he couldn’t kill her when she wanted him to, that was downright humiliating. A huge wound to both Kira’s public image and Light’s ego.</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya’s features turned into a mocking pout. “I guess you can’t kill me, after all.”</p><p> </p><p>Her lips stretched into a playful, sly smile. “Let’s make a deal then. I will stay in Japan, keep on killing all these vermin, blah blah blah…Until, you kill me, or that detective catches you. I got no interest in meeting you or anything. But, as long as you remain alive and free, as long as I can still breathe…”</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged almost indifferently. “I will keep doing what I want. And rub it at your face, <em>Kami</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>She giggled at the camera as her hand picked up a gun from a nearby body. “Until next time, Kira.”</p><p> </p><p>She pointed the gun at the camera and pulled the trigger. The footage ended there.</p><p> </p><p>The room went silent. Light was staring at the blank TV screen in rage at the humiliation he had just gone through. Ryuk didn’t make a sound either, only shifted his gaze when he noticed the curtains blowing softly to the cool breeze that entered the room from the open balcony door.</p><p> </p><p>“Geez, you look like you want to murder someone.”</p><p> </p><p>Light’s eyes snapped to the balcony door in utter shock, spotting a very familiar figure standing between the blowing curtains.</p><p> </p><p>“Then again, it wouldn’t be your first time.” An even more familiar smile appeared on purple lips, a humorous expression taking over the otherwise nightmarish features. “Surprise!”</p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya watched with immense amusement the shocked expression on Kira’s face. Seeing him from up close was…not what she had expected. Sure, she had known to expect a high-school student, but seeing him now, he looked…well, too perfect. She supposed that was why he fitted perfectly for the role of a serial killer who thought he was doing the right thing.</p><p> </p><p>She was pleasantly surprised when he unconsciously took a step back. “Koroshi-ya…”</p><p> </p><p>“In the flesh.” She declared, gesturing to herself. She noticed his eyes briefly glancing towards the TV screen. “Oh, you didn’t actually think that the footage was live, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Seeing that he wasn’t really going to respond to her rhetorical question, she spread her arms and bowed slightly, looking at him from beneath her eyelashes. “Nice to meet you too, Kira.”</p><p> </p><p>At the mention of his other name, the look of shock on his face slowly dissolved into a narrowed, murderous glare. “How did you find me?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A</em>
  <em>nd the psychopath takes over!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes followed his example and narrowed as well, yet the smile remained, albeit more sinister. “I took a ride on the train.”</p><p> </p><p>The guy stayed silent after that, apparently thinking what more he should say. She didn’t like the silence. It bored her. Plus, the shivers running down her spine were constantly distracting her from the moment she stepped foot on the balcony.</p><p> </p><p>“I see you need some time to process all of this.” Her hands slipped the jacket off of her shoulders and dropped it on the teenager’s bed as she made her way towards his bedroom door, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. “Shall I use your bathroom until you’re over the initial shock?”</p><p> </p><p>The look he gave her was one of both confusion and precaution. “Are you here to kill me?”</p><p> </p><p>She burst out laughing at that, holding her sides. “No no! Believe me, I’d love to, but no. You’re not dying today. You thank my mercifulness after I get back from the bathroom.” He opened his mouth, most likely to object, but she cut him off. “I won’t be seen by your family. I’m not interested in them, anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>She winked knowingly at him before exiting the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Well, not completely alone…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She found the bathroom door easily and made sure to lock it behind her before pressing her ear against the wood. She listened intently for a couple of seconds, making sure that the high-school murderer wasn’t trying anything on the other side. Not that he seemed like the guy to eavesdrop on anyone, but one could never be too sure. After a couple of seconds had passed, she moved away from the door and sat on the edge of the bathtub, lazily scratching the nearest wall with her metal fingertips. “Any thoughts about the high-school reaper?”</p><p> </p><p><em>“</em><em>So far, the only thing I can say for sure is that it’s worse than I thought. From the moment he spoke, he’s been making me nervous and extremely uncomfortable…and you know how good I am at judging a character.” </em>Hogo-sha’s voice commented from the earbud hidden behind the woman’s skull earring. Her voice sounded tired and her breathing erratic, as if she had been running. Though Koroshi-ya knew that to be a sign that her friend was in deep thought.</p><p> </p><p>She absentmindedly inspected herself in the mirror, her fingers playing with the ends of her left ponytail. “Yeah, well, I see your point there. From the moment I laid eyes on this guy, I’ve been feeling like punching the living shit out of him… This is alarming since the only feeling I get when I meet a new target is a desire for abject extermination.”</p><p> </p><p><em>“</em> <em>T</em><em>hat’s not even close to what I meant.”</em></p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya wanted to comment on the amount of nervousness in the other woman’s tone but decided against it. “Still, it’s not good.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence settled between the two of them, each woman lost in her own thoughts, most of which weren’t pleasant to either of them.</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha was the first to break the silence. <em>“I almost forgot to tell you the good news! Well, good news for you, actually.”</em> She mumbled the last part, masking a tired sigh. <em>“The Japanese task force is organizing a group that will work on your arrest and ICPO is going to host another conference in two days, you being the main discussion subject after humiliating the most famous and dangerous criminal of our time. So…You’re officially a target for ICPO and a serial killer.”</em></p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya chuckled. “Damn, I wish I had parents. Those are eleven words that would make any parent proud of their child!”</p><p> </p><p>Hogo-sha could be heard holding back her own chuckle from the other side of the earbud. <em>“I highly doubt that…”</em></p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya shook her head with a smile. “I should be getting back to the Pacifier of the World, I’ve wasted a lot of time in this bathroom as it is.” She turned and walked towards the door, her hand reaching to grab the doorknob until she remembered one more thing she wanted to say, her hand retreating from the door. “Speaking about targets, when are you planning to make an entrance?”</p><p> </p><p><em>“Oh, pretty soon from the looks of it, don’t worry.”</em> She responded, a hint of exasperation echoing in her voice that made Koroshi-ya’s right eyebrow rise in suspicion. Hogo-sha saw the look from the camera situated on a chain made of bones that was hanging from one of her friend’s ponytails and took it as a sign for her to explain further. <em>“I can’t get into details right now, but let’s just say that thanks to Light, L must have already figured out that Kira has close connections to the Japanese police staff.”</em></p><p> </p><p>Koroshi-ya smirked, unlocking the bathroom door and stepping outside on the hall. “I see he didn’t waste any time.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“No time at all.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>As the female serial killer made her way inside the high schooler’s room, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in disbelief. “Seriously? Do I look like someone who has some form of ID on her? No, really, do you believe that a face like this one could ever carry an ID wherever she pleased?”</p><p> </p><p>Light straightened to his full height stiffly, taking a step away from the leather jacket he had been caught inspecting. Despite having been caught red-handed, he sent a dark look her way as she reached the bedside and picked up the clothing. “What makes you think I was looking for an ID?”</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged. “What else would you be searching for? It’s the only thing you need to kill me, this time actually kill me. Though, honestly, I didn’t think you’d be naïve enough to believe that I would have any ID with me. Unless, you suspected that I didn’t have any, but gave it a try nonetheless.”</p><p> </p><p>Light immediately masked the tensing of his shoulders at her deduction, though that wasn’t enough to keep Koroshi-ya’s more experienced eyes from catching sight of it. It widened her smile by a few more inches. “You thought it that way, didn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>When no answer came from the brunette, she shook her head as if scolding him, her look hardening ever so slightly. “Sorry pal but, that’s not how it goes. When it comes to me, you will only know what I want you to know.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is this game you’re playing?” he asked, voice laced with hidden malice. His eyes seemed to glow red under his brown bangs. “You broke into my house and you know who I am, but you claim that you don’t desire to kill me. Why come here then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because.” she said, lips slowly stretching into a sly smile. “For the first time in years, a man with this kind of power pops up between the millions of criminals around the world and, again for the first time in a long while, one of the best detectives on the planet takes on the case. This is the first police-criminal chase I’ve had in years!”</p><p> </p><p>Her smile was turning more and more sinister with every word, her bloodshot eyes taking on a glint of sadistic excitement. “I live to see people like you ultimately destroy themselves in the end. So, your case, the Kira case…it’s so entertaining that simply killing you would be pure cruelty to myself.”</p><p> </p><p>She bent a bit forward, looking at him from beneath her eyelashes. “No…I’ll just watch, this time. I’ll watch this until the end. I will see you rise up to the top and then I’ll laugh after seeing how bad you’ll fall.”</p><p> </p><p>Her words were followed by a staring contest between the two. Light was openly glaring at her, body stiff from slight uneasiness towards her, while Koroshi-ya stared analytically at him, her smile as unfaltering and unnerving as ever.</p><p> </p><p>When she felt those familiar shivers running down her spine, she broke the silence, effectively interrupting Light, who had just opened his mouth to speak. “I know there’s a lot you’ll have to tell me about Kira, well yourself, but for now I’d like you to give me the note.”</p><p> </p><p>She turned her head to her right, eyes locking on a specific spot on the ceiling above her. “I want to be able to address the third being in the room.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?!” Ryuk could only stare in surprise at Koroshi-ya who, despite not being able to see him, was somehow staring right in his eyes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter came out much, much later than I had originally thought...but, it's never too late, right? </p><p>Preview:</p><p>"Do you really want to make me look for it?"</p><p>"I would say that you are too predictable, but that would be a lie. The truth is, I am very good at reading pricks."</p><p>"So nice to finally meet you!"</p><p>"Such a beautiful smile..."</p><p>"Tell him I have information that might link Kira to Koroshi-ya."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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